IIFF introduces new film category

festival to be held from November 23 to December 1 in Harare, Bulawayo, Gwanda and Binga.
“Of interest is that IIFF is calling for films showcasing how men are on occasion great allies to women by recognising that the human struggle is common to all and is not gender specific. These will feature under the New Man category. But they should also bear in mind that as usual there will be film submissions, which will also focus on women under this year’s theme, ‘Women Alive’.
“We are therefore calling on all local filmmakers, organisations and embassies to submit films for this year’s edition marked under the theme, ‘Women Alive’.
The deadline for entries is August 31,” festival director, Yvonne Jila said.
Now in its 11th edition, the festival is expected to screen more than 60 films at selected venues in and around Harare.
These include short and feature films as well as documentaries.
“They should portray women as agents of their own experiences rather than as just under-goers of experience, and how women remain alive physically, mentally and spiritually in intensely misogynist times and nations.
“The films will also afford Zimbabwean women and men a chance to step into other women’s experiences to see how these women triumph over their daily battles and challenges, ranging from institutional, state and personal violence to environmental degradation, migration and climate change,” Jila said.
She added that the theme also embraced the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals through empowering and promoting women.
“The theme ‘Women Alive’ also celebrates women’s agency in transition and recognises the positive, peace-building change that individual women and groups of women and their allies can bring to their homes, communities and nations.
“The theme resonates with the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goal (MDG) number 3, promoting gender equality and empowering women, in relation to all the other MDGs,” she said.
It was founded in 2002.